I'm late. I'm sorry. I was just stuck. It was hard remembering how to write a chapter where not all Sirius was doing was verbally destroying people.
Chapter 20: What civilized people do
Emilia Croyne cleared her throat, about to ask for the judges' decision.
A hand rose amongst the lords.
The temporary Chief Warlock frowned.
"Yes, Lord Macmillan?"
The small and frail wizard blushed as everyone looked at him, and downright shivered when Black's eyes moved to him, obviously exasperated with the fact that his sentence was once again pushed back. He was seemingly fed up with answering questions when the ones who asked them refused to even consider he might be saying the truth.
"Err... I don't mean to be a nuisance, but this session has been going for quite some time already. I, and I believe I am not the only one in this situation, am a bit hungry. Maybe we should take a break, and resume the judgment in one hour or so?"
Several people blinked, unable to comprehend that the call of the stomach was weighing this much in such a serious trial – or maybe they were realizing they were hungry too.
Under the disturbing gazes of the audience, the small lord quickly added another reason to his request. Curiously, Sirius noticed that he was glancing at him nervously from time to time.
"Of course, it is not that I wish to postpone your sentence, Lord Black, whether it will be one of guilt or one of innocence. Only, many things have been told, and I believe we all need some time to think. And... personally, I think better when I'm not hungry."
To everyone's surprise, and the Macmillan lord wasn't the least surprised, Sirius barked a laugh at the proposition. Wiping a tear from the corner of his right eye, he reached for his two pocket watches, the Blacks' and the Potters'. It caused some people to raise an eyebrow.
"Lord Macmillan is right, Chief Warlock Croyne. It is almost midday. It might be sensible to let the judges calm down, without me next to them to freak the hell out of them whispering the exact things they don't like to hear."
And he looked expectantly at Emilia Croyne.
The witch looked around, unsure of what to do. What she saw were many people looking at their own watches, and she sighed. Apparently, talking about eating had awakened their appetite.
"Alright. The Wizengamot may retire. I expect everyone to be back here in three quarters of an hour, because this trial will resume, whether you are here or not."
She looked sternly at the Black lord.
"Lord Black, you are not allowed to go beyond the backroom where you waited for the trial to start. You are still under procedure."
Black gave her a perfectly innocent look, and Croyne had to refrain an urge to wince. This man was definitely a danger to the female wizarding population, if he could act like that after having scared everyone in the room just enough for them not to pee in their robes.
"Do I get to share my lunch with my friends and family?"
Emilia Croyne glanced at the said friends and family members, and sighed. The look they were giving her wasn't really one that let her any choice, was it?
She nodded.
"Two aurors will be keeping an eye on you, though."
Just in case some of the people the young lord had borderline insulted or humiliated during the trial were to try anything. Though the temporary Chief Warlock doubted they would be able to do much against Sirius Black, even without his wand. If he felt threatened, the wizard could just transform and rip his attacker's throat with his grim teeth. In such a small room as was the back room, it would be stupid to attack an animagus as dangerous as a grim.
Black shrugged his agreement.
"Dawlish, Moody, you stay here. Gulch will bring you something to eat."
The courtroom started to empty. Soon, Sirius, Remus, Harry, Hermione, the Tonks, the Longbottoms and the Weasleys were the only ones left – with the two aurors.
Sirius and Dawlish had just started a glaring contest. Julius Moody was almost gawking at Dumbledore, who had lingered behind too. The young auror hadn't been one to be sent to the headmaster's office for misbehavior, so even if he had seen the old wizard on an almost daily basis for seven years, he wasn't very familiar with him.
Just before Sirius went to open the door to the backroom, Dumbledore called him out.
"One word, if you please, Sirius."
The young lord made a vague gesture for the others to enter the backroom without him, and walked to the old wizard. Dawlish remained at the door, scowling at the Black lord, who compensated his anger by imagining the irritating auror painted in blue with pink flowers all over his face.
Dumbledore sat back onto a seat, asking for Sirius to do just as much.
"We will need to speak, after your acquittal."
Sirius arched a polite eyebrow at the old man, a smirk coming into existence on his lips.
"You seem pretty sure that I will walk free."
"Do you doubt you will?"
The arched eyebrow rose even higher.
Dumbledore simply smiled.
"I had thought as much. That was quite a show you made just then. Daring, if I say so. Especially the part with Bellatrix."
Sirius shrugged, unwilling to show how worried he had been, and still was, about this part of his plan.
"I can't possibly keep her a secret forever. Besides, you didn't seem very surprised, Headmaster."
"Alastor saw her when he went to visit you in St. Mungo's. You were asleep, after your magic trick with the Longbottoms."
Ah. That explained a lot. Bloody magic eye.
He'd have to ask the retired auror what he saw when he looked at him with it, Sirius mused. He knew his body wasn't exactly human anymore... More like, his new body wasn't exactly human to begin with... And he'd rather have as much data as possible about his condition, just in case it turned badly one day or another.
"Then I'm surprised she is still free to hover around as she please. Though it's not exactly the case, somersault and everything, you know what I mean, but yet. Shouldn't Moody have reported her?"
Even if Sirius wasn't looking at the old wizard, he could tell that Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling.
"I asked him not to. And apparently, her new sanity awoke something in her, that made him almost... Ah, trust is never the right word with Alastor... Let's just say he doesn't distrust her as much as he would have before."
Well, this was surprising.
"Moody almost trusting of Bellatrix? I thought this all couldn't get any more ridiculous than me having my murderer haunting me, but apparently I was wrong."
The old wizard laughed softly. Ridiculous wasn't the word he'd have chosen to describe the situation. But he could understand the irony.
"What do you intend to do once you'll be free?"
Sirius glanced suspisciously at the old wizard.
"Do I get to take Harry in? Black Manor isn't exactly the safest place, but it is definitely safe enough when it comes to attacks from the outside. And there, there are no Dursleys. That has to count for something, in my humble opinion."
Dumbledore kept silent for half a minute.
"As you are aware, the blood wards over Lily's family are the most efficient wards to exist. Even if he doesn't like it, the Dursleys' house has to be a 'home' to Harry. I'd feel better if you had him spend at least one week each month there. The three other weeks... Well, I guess Harry could be visiting you at Black Manor, or the Weasleys at the Burrow. I don't believe he would say no."
A wide smile made his way onto Sirius' face, but he made it disappear quickly. He wasn't free yet.
"Right, I'll still have to share him with his friends... A pity, that."
"The only thing I'm asking of you, Sirius, even if I have no right to ask, is that if anything happens, you send him back to Privet Drive, at least for the duration of the attack."
The young lord grunted something of a positive answer. It might not please him, but Harry's safety was more important than his happiness. There would be no happiness if the boy was killed.
He stood up.
"If I am indeed a free man by the end of this trial, I'd be more than happy to meet you at Grimmauld in the next days."
Dumbledore only smiled.
When Sirius passed by Dawlish, who closed the door to the backroom behind him, the annoying auror growled.
"You won't be a free man ever again, Black."
The young lord stopped in his tracks, turned to the auror, and glared at him. Then, he walked away, to the ones who were waiting for him in the back room. It was a bit crowded, but well...
Most of the people who had stayed behind to be with him were looking at something on the floor. Sirius walked to them, curious, and found them waiting eagerly next to Arthur.
Arthur Weasley had come to the trial as Ron's father. He wasn't exactly a friend of Sirius yet, but they got along well enough – experimental enchanting of muggle artefacts as a hobby and all that. As for now, the wizard was battling against a wicker picnic basket which stubbornly refused to let go of a pumpkin pie made by his wife.
Arthur looked up at Sirius, smiling apologetically.
"Molly figured this might turn out like this, and so she made enough food to feed a regiment. Unfortunately, I don't think even the expansion charm on the basket could take it all, and I just..."
As he said that, he gave one last thrust at the pie. Sirius and Remus noticed the shadows of a smile on the lips of both Fred and George, who were standing not too close to their father, though under the watchful eye of their mother.
The two Marauders shared a glance, took a step back, Sirius dragged Ron and Harry with him, Remus took care of Hermione and Neville.
The basket almost exploded.
Tonks, Frank and Charlie, who had been the nearest to the wicker basket, as well as Arthur himself, were sent to the floor. Moody Jr. started, blinked, and cursed as he saw Dawlish take out his wand and pointing it at the Black lord, as if it was his fault. Alice, who had seen her fellow aurors react, handled Dawlish by desarming him quickly. The man had been grating on her nerves for too long.
Molly Weasley slowly walked to her twin sons, who looked like innocent angels, but were definitely neither innocent nor angels. Seeing that their acting wasn't changing her mind, the twins decided they'd better take cover behind Bill, who was still trying to process what had just happened.
A smile tugged at Andromeda's upper lip, and when Sirius noticed that, he burst out laughing.
After a dozen of seconds, the young lord was simply smiling. He hadn't laughed like that since... Well, since he had died. Even mocking Bellatrix wasn't this good.
Sirius went to Arthur, and helped him with gathering the dishes, which fortunately hadn't been damaged by the fate of their container, but were now scattered on the floor. Arthur was right, there was enough for a regiment.
The rare hairs on the head of the wizard had turned an odd brown with the explosion, but the Weasley patriarch was definitely stiffling a laugh of his own.
"Well, I think this basket was a bit old anyway."
They started eating happily enough, speaking of this and that, and nothing and everything. Molly Weasley would glare at her twin sons from hell from time to time, Ron, Hermione and Harry would speak with Sirius and Remus, while Neville would send nervous glances to Andromeda who looked too much like her sister for him to feel safe, but as his parents were happily chatting with her... The point was, Sirius was desperately avoiding the stares of Frank, Alice and Andromeda, who were talking about exactly who he thought they'd be talking about.
After ten minutes, Frank couldn't wait anymore. He coughed purposely, with a pointed glance at his dark-haired, pale-skinned friend.
Sirius, still looking elsewhere, handed him a tissue.
The auror rolled his eyes, though the Black lord couldn't see it.
"Sirius."
"Yes, Frank?"
"Look at me."
Sirius obliged, his face carefully neutral.
Frank, on the other hand, was looking grave. There was no question as to what he wanted to discuss. It surely pertained to one ghost who had deemed it better to just stay up there, in the courtroom, rather than joining her sister, cousin, and niece.
"Frankly, Sirius, I hope you're taking all this seriously."
"I don't see how else it could be, Frank."
Not everyone understood why, but Remus nudged his friend in the stomach at that. Sirius may have hated the puns on his name, but it seemed that the double pun this time had left him willing to make use of it. It wasn't the time to joke around.
Of course, the young lord knew that very well.
He just didn't want to speak of it, and so had used whatever had come to his mind to delay the conversation.
There was a deep silence, as everyone in the room waited for what was to come. No one was certain of what would unfold, for they were themselves quite disturbed by the gosthly news they had learned during the trial. If them, who had not been directly affected by Bellatrix Lestrange's misdeeds, didn't know what to think of it, what would the Longbottom couple think of it?
It wasn't as if Sirius could do anything about the fact that he was haunted by Bella. He had told so during the trial, and sinemendatium or not, they believed him to be thruthful about that. He wouldn't have kept her around, if she hadn't ceased to be dangerous, and if he had had a choice.
It was true that Sirius could have chosen to keep her around to make others uncomfortable, because, well, the more uncomfortable they were, the easier it was for him to manipulate them. It was true that Sirius was somewhat cruel, from time to time. But he wasn't ever needlessly so. Keeping Bella's ghost around would be a well-deserved punishment for some, but it would also be cruel to others who had lost much because of her, and yet had done nothing to Sirius. He wasn't this cruel.
If he had had a choice, the young lord wouldn't have let the Longbottoms see the ghost.
He had had no such choice, all of them understood that.
Even Alice and Frank.
But because one understood the necessity of some things, it didn't mean they weren't suffering because of this necessity.
Sirius sighed in defeat.
"Come and say it."
He hadn't really looked at his friends' faces since the last pun.
If he had, he'd have noticed that their mask was more of concern than of anger.
It was Alice who asked the question.
"How are you feeling, Sirius?"
Astonished, the Black lord only blinked at his friend. Why was she asking that, when it was her own wellfare that was in question, as well as her husband's?
Alice understood that. She was a woman who understood many things, after all.
"It is not easy for us to accept that she is still here, as you can guess. But, we're not the ones who are the most concerned by her return from the afterlife. Andromeda is having troubles, too. After your... jailing, it took some time for Bellatrix to come after us. Before that, she went to torment her sister, as she had done many times during the war. And still, the three of us agree, Sirius, that you are the one who is in the most danger because of this ghost."
Ted, who was tending to his daughter, tensed a bit. He knew very well what had happened, back then. It hadn't been easy, each time Death Eaters had come after them. After him.
And still, each time, his wife had sent him and Nymphadora away, with or without his consent, while she had confronted the attackers. Though a blood traitor, Andromeda was a pureblood. She risked less than they did. And she was a Black. She knew how to defend herself, even if she couldn't always fell her opponents.
All that, because they had come after him, and their daughter. Not after her.
How many times had he felt as if it was his fault? He endangered even his own daughter, because he was a muggleborn, and she would have been a pureblood, or at least a "better" halfblood, if not for him. Of course, Nymphadora wouldn't have been his Dora. Not exactly. With another father, she would have been different. It wouldn't have been his Dora who would have been safe.
Ted had often consoled himself like that. He did with what he had.
Just as Sirius did with what he had.
Everyone knew it. They knew he had stopped truly complaining years ago. He never complained about what he couldn't change, if about anything.
And he couldn't change Bella's presence.
"She killed you, Sirius. And you killed her. How many times have you fought, not only in words and beliefs, but also in battle? You were too clever, and too dangerous, for her to wound you much, but she has wounded you nonetheless. And now, you are stuck with her."
It hadn't been long since Alice and Frank had woken up, and seeing them this grave so soon was aggravating for the others. Both had deserved some calm, and some rest.
But the war was here. They would take, all of them, what they could, when it came to being happy. They wouldn't, however, back away from being grave when needed. If they did, they might die of it.
Sirius lived too much by this rule.
"What can I do about it, Alice? She's here, I'm here. That's all there is to it. There is absolutely nothing I can do to change that. At least, she's not as... detestable as before."
The young lord shrugged, before turning to his cousin.
"Andromeda, I fear you will have to speak with her at some point. She's your sister, and, well... It could be good if we managed to make her an asset, and not only a defused threat."
The look Andromeda gave him was hardly a convinced one.
"We're talking about Bellatrix there."
No need to say more, she wouldn't even try to believe that it was possible to change her sister's ghost anymore than it had already happened.
Sirius sighed, but he still had an ace up his sleeve.
"On top of that, I think she's worried about Narcissa."
Andromeda's face gave no hints that she had changed her mind, but the witch stood up, and moved to leave the backroom. Towards the courtroom, and not towards the corridor.
What happened next was that they all finished eating while chatting a bit about this and that, as before. Only, the mood in the room had a bit dampened. The Weasley twins managed to coax Remus into sharing some of the Marauders' stories and memorous pranks, though they never managed to get him to tell his secrets. From the glint in Molly's eyes, it was for the better. Sirius more or less let it slip that there was more than enough place at Black Manor to hold a quidditch competition one of those days, you know, if Harry wasn't against spending part of the coming holidays with him, that was, ah, how to say it, in an undursleyish place. Needless to say that the teenager was more than happy to say he wouldn't mind in the least.
Finally, the time for judgment came.
Frank headed to the lords' tribunes with Arthur, talking of the latest regulations that the auror had missed due to some... health circumstances, before the older man saluted his own brother, Lord Aelus Weasley. Ted and Tonks joined their wife and mother next to Narcissa, who was purposely avoiding her sister's glare. The others joined the rest of the public, Ron and the twins making sure that their mother didn't catch sight of Percy, who was still so ashamed of his errors that he hadn't stopped avoiding everyone in his family.
Sirius was the last one to leave the back room, after an intense glaring contest with Dawlish.
As he walked back into the courtroom, he learned that he wasn't the only one who could act as he wanted, but also at the right moment, to manipulate people into trusting him.
He had not made two steps into the room that Harry turned back on his heels, closed the distance between them, and hugged his godfather before more than half of the judges. Dawlish, as unpleasant as ever, went to separate them, but surprisingly he tripped on his way and crashed on the floor. The fact that Julius Moody's foot had been just before his own feet was obviously to be considered as irrelevant, of course.
Sirius decided it might be good to let his surprise show, though not for too long, or else some people would argue it had been staged.
"Hum, Harry, would you let me go?"
The teenager waited ten seconds, looking around discreetly. Once he was sure that most of the audience had seen how much he cared for Sirius, he loosened the hug a bit.
"'Just so that you don't get sent back to Azkaban. You were particularly convincing, this morning, but I'm afraid you terrified a bit too many people..."
Sirius smirked, unabashed, at the whispered words.
"Did I, now?"
Harry let go of him, took a step back, arched an eyebrow at his godfather, and almost ran back to his friends.
He certainly wasn't fooled by Sirius' half-hearted attempt to make it seem like he hadn't realized what he had been doing. After all, if the man had wanted to make him think so, he would have done a way better job at erasing his smirk.
As he sat down next to Ron, Hermione made a face of questioning. Harry tried to answer her silent inquiry, but no sound left his mouth. He silently groaned, remembering the silencing charm over the public's tribune. Oh well, it'd have to wait.
Sirius walked to the seat of the accused, careful not to look too smug, though still confident.
Emilia Croyne called for everyone's attention.
She said once again the charges and the crimes of the accused, and reminded the judges of the twelve years of jail the Black lord had already suffered, as well as of the lack of trial that had lead to that imprisonment. She finished with the terms of Sirius Black's deal with the Ministry.
"Now, I will ask for each of the judges' decision towards the accused. Be it known that anyone who would vote under the influence of someone else, by threat or by bribe, would be held responsible for the unfairness of the sentence. Be it known that all judges in this court are aware of the weight of their decision on one man's life. Be it known, that this courtroom is no place for petty revenges or votes made lightly."
When the temporary Chief Warlock spoke of "petty revenge", Sirius deliberately sought the eyes of the Yaxley lady. Morgan Yaxley, of course, steadily and stubbornly refused to meet his glance, focusing of Croyne instead.
"May all who are for the accused to be cleared of charges raise their hand."
Aelus Weasley, Frank Longbottom and Theodore Rowle were the first ones to do so. Seeing that even the victim of Bellatrix Lestrange had voted in favor of the accused, some other lords and ladies followed. Five of the seven representatives of the people did so too, as did Scrimgeour's Advisor and his Junior Assistant, namely, Percy Weasley. Finally, Lady Ollivander raised her hand too, after having thought about it a bit more.
Emilia Croyne mentally counted the number of people for the acquittal.
"May all those who wish to submit a blank vote raise their hand."
Six heads of House acted so, amongst which were the Abbot and Shafiq lords. One of the representatives of the people voted blank as well, as did, to the surprise of many, Scrimgeour himself.
"May all those who are opposed to the clearing of the charges raise their hand."
Sirius wasn't surprised to see Morgan Yaxley and Lord Goyle amongst those. Most had links to the Death Eaters, but there were also one or two heads who had simply never wanted to even give him a chance. Not a problem, he had guessed it would be so. The last representatives of the people and of the Ministry – that was, the Senior Undersecretary – voted so too.
Croyne watched all the judges for a time, before she gave them one last chance to correct their vote. No one changed their choice. It rarely happened, in fact, for no judge would want anyone to think them irresolute.
The temporary Chief Warlock then turned to Sirius.
"Sirius Orion Black, you are therefore, with nine blank votes, fifteen opposed votes, and twenty-four votes for, cleared of all charges."
The Black lord smiled genuinely at Croyne and at most of the audience, acknowledged with a nod those who had voted blank, and smirked at those who had wanted him to rot in Azkaban once again.
Emilia Croyne could hardly keep her smile to herself, and she ended up smirking too. She really had to watch herself; this wizard was dangerous to her composure.
"Stand up, Lord Black. You are, now and again, a free man."
So Sirius did as he was told, but he bowed at the temporary Chief Warlock... before ducking what would have otherwise been an armful of cousin and godson, namely Tonks and Harry.
A shower of light reminded the young lord that there was a hungry army of journalists waiting for him, and for a moment he was tempted to run away by the backroom. He took a deep breath, fixed a smile on his face, and turned to the front door of the courtroom, behind which he was certain to be assaulted by the journalists who were still kept at bay... even if the photographers were not.
"Harry, I'm afraid I have a dangerous ordeal to confront right now... Maybe you'd better go back to the Dursleys right away. I have some things to deal with before I can take you in."
After all, being declared free and all meant he had to deal with a lot of paperwork that he hadn't been able to attend to for fifteen years. It included his formal responsibility for his godson. And the teenager still had to take back his belongings from the Dursleys'.
At that, Harry grinned heartfully.
"No can do, Sirius. Dumbledore allowed me to stay with you for the day, as long as I actually stay with you. If we were to be separated, he'd take me back to the Dursleys, and I certainly don't want to go right away."
Someone mumbled a "lucky bastard" behind the two, and Ron suddenly got smacked on the back of the head by both Hermione and his mother for his language.
Sirius smirked. He looked at Dumbledore, who, though he was several feet away, smiled knowingly. This old wizard surely thought of everything.
"Alright, folks. I'm sorry that you have to leave, Ron, Hermione, and everyone else, but I guess we'll see each other often enough... On the other hand, Andromeda, Ted, Dora and, obviously, Remus, you are definitely coming with me and Harry to the Manor. I want a family dinner, after all that, and you are what's left of my family... Of my families."
Tonks looked overjoyed, but Remus seemed about to protest, for Merlin knew what reason.
"No, Moony, you're coming. If you don't, I'll call Dora by her full first name for one month."
The pink-haired metamorphmagus hissed at her mother's cousin in anger, and for a time Sirius was tempted to joke that she, in fact, should have been in Slytherin. But, after his performance of the day, he felt he'd better keep quiet.
Remus wasn't sure as to why exactly it was Tonks who was threatened to make him come, nor why he accepted the threat, but he relented.
After that, Sirius bid farewell to all the others, delaying as much as he could the time before he'd have to pass the door, to step into the ring of journalists. Maybe if he waited long enough, some would be discouraged and leave?
As if.
Journalists were like wolves. They could wait under the tree where you hid for you to fall asleep and then literally fall down, to get their meal. They wouldn't leave before they'd have feasted on your carcass.
As if to give him one last chance at delaying, Sirius saw that the two Rowles were still in the courtroom, talking with an aged witch. He hesitated for a second, but eventually made his way towards them.
His greetings and thanks to the Rowle lord were honest, and well-met.
When he turned to the lord's niece, however, it was with a twinge in his chest. He wasn't sure what it was about, so he simply acted with his perfect countenance, once again.
"Miss Rowle, I am pleased to see you once more. I was wondering if, one of these days, you'd come and visit me at Black Manor. I hear we have much in common."
Eleanor smiled softly, and accepted the invitation.
Theodore smirked a bit as the Black lord left them. If Eleanor didn't know the meaning of the word "love", Sirius Black seemed to be just as oblivious. And if it was just meant to be a perfect friendship, at least it was one he was more than alright with.
As for Sirius, even if he wasn't sure why exactly he had acted so, he was for now too preoccupied with passing this damned door to think about it.
Oh well, the sooner the better, was it?
With Harry trailing after him, Sirius bravely stepped amongst the beasts.
"Lord Black, one word, please!"
"What do you think of your previous imprisonment?"
"Is there any declaration that you would want to make after this trial?"
"Would you murder Peter Pettigrew if you were to find him?"
At this particular question, Sirius only smiled coldly. There certainly was no warmth in his eyes, and he was quite certain that the photo which had just been taken would be lovely on the front page of the Daily Prophet. He truly hoped that Snape would buy the newspapers, for once, just so that a certain rat could see the picture.
Not far away, some journalists were trying another approach, interviewing the people who were still leaving the courtroom to get their point of view on the trial. It was certainly a bit less interesting than a word from the accused himself, but at least they had better odds to get an answer.
One of the wizards who answered the questions smiled widely, as if greatly amused by all that. His words would be in an article the next day: "The judges have clearly been tricked into acquitting the Black lord! I'm not a judge, but he tricked me, and I'm totally alright with that." The headline to that article would be another quote from a spectator, "He made us forget his crimes by shoving our noses into ours."
As he moved through the journalists without saying a word, he tensed.
That was not going to happen.
Or maybe it would.
Sirius focused on the years in Azkaban, the pain, the hunger, the rage, the cold, the despair. He focused, he remembered, he thought only of that.
And when he did, he took down all his occlumency shields.
Harry, evading the question of yet another journalist, turned back to his godfather, and almost bumped into him. Worried, he made to call for Sirius, who had altogether stopped moving.
But before he got to do that, a terrifying scream echoed in the corridor.
All the journalists stopped talking, and turned around to look at one of their colleagues, who had her wand drawn, but hidden in her sleeve, and pointed at the Black lord. The witch was now on her knees, a look of utter horror on her face, and tears rolling down her cheeks. It was as if she couldn't let go of her wand, and couldn't make it point elsewhere than at Sirius Black.
Five aurors rushed to the scene as Sirius turned slowly to the witch, his face a mask of cold fury.
Dawlish, of course, was the one to speak first. Or, to spit first, as it was.
"What have you done to her, Black?!"
The young lord's answer was controlled, but many would later swear that there was some kind of underlying sneer in it.
"I did nothing. She went and tried aggressive legilimency on me. I believe that is not what civilized people do, at least not outside of a battle or an interrogation."
Yes, it might have been a good trick for a journalist, but this one was certainly a bit stupid. It was obvious that the Black lord would be more than able to stop a legilimency attack, or at least detect it.
But Dawlish, as demonstrated before, was an ass. When the one in the wrong was obviously the journalist, he was still trying to accuse Sirius of anything he could. What was his problem, no one could tell, but it was plain visible that he had one.
"If you truly had done nothing, she wouldn't be in that state."
It wasn't completely false, but it wasn't completely true either, and Sirius really didn't like the fact that there was now another wand pointed at him.
"Oh, but I didn't do a thing. I only decided that since she wanted to see, I would let her see. Right now, I am kindly showing her all my years in Azkaban, all the anger and despair I have amassed there, all my spite and my rancor, all my grudges towards the likes of you, Dawlish. The hatred, and the ever absent hope. But also the cold, the pain, the hunger. How I have become all but a wraith, how I have seen the jailors pass by, with their gruel and their accusatory glances, how they spat on me when they needed someone to vent their anger on, and, worst of all, how I have seen, every single damned year, the Minister for Magic pass by my cell, and look at me as if I was some kind of monster."
And there it was, for their newspapers and magazines only, a reenactment of the trial they hadn't been able to record, for pictures weren't allowed during the trial. The anger, the harshness, but also the control, of the one and only Lord of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black, Sirius Orion Black!
No need to say that the journalists were salivating at that opportunity.
Sirius, him, was seething.
"She is living, through my memory, the proximity of the dementors. Have you ever felt that, Auror Dawlish? Have you ever been so long next to a dementor, that you are past simple despair? Your mind start saying things which are not true, and yet not untrue; how it happened because of you, even if you weren't the one holding the wand; how your lack of judgment was the cause for their death; how, even if you were to get out of Azkaban, there is absolutely nothing waiting for you outside. Those who still live, even if they believed you innocent, and trust me, when you have spent months with the dementors, you don't doubt they think you guilty, those who are still alive will never want anything to do with you. After all, in the end, it was all you fault, wasn't it? You made one mistake. Only one mistake. And that cost you everything. You were not allowed to make the slightest mistake. But you made one. And so they won't want to see you. Ever. Again. You are a failure, Dawlish, do you understand that? You. Are. A. Failure."
As he talked, Sirius rebuilt his mental shields. The witch fell to the floor, unconscious. But no one, except the two aurors who took her to St. Mungo's, no one paid her any attention.
"And since there is nothing waiting for you, Auror Dawlish, don't you think it would be better if you just stayed there, in Azkaban, with the dementors? Them, at least, they won't push you away."
The auror had turned white, and his wand was not as high as before. Still, it was pointed at Sirius.
The Black lord gave it a contemptuous look, and turned away, soon followed by Harry, Remus, Ted, Andromeda and Tonks.
But as the young lord had stopped looking him in the eyes, Dawlish regained his impudence.
Dumbly as well as boldly, he pointed his wand back at the head of the young lord.
"Well, Black, maybe we should in fact take a look inside your head! After all, if you have enough in there to destroy one's mind, maybe it is that you are planning worse!"
Dawlish opened his mouth to cast a legilimens, but Sirius spoke first.
"Did you know that a dementor sucked out my soul, two years ago?"
"If it did, then why are you still there, Black?"
Sirius, back still turned to the auror, patted Harry's head.
"This child here managed to make a patronus just before it was too late. The dementor had sucked my soul out of my body, but it had yet to suck it in. It flew away, and my soul went back where it belonged."
Dawlish certainly didn't see where it was leading, and maybe he ought to have used legilimency without waiting. But even if he thought Black guilty and dangerous, he also knew that the man was hardly one to speak without reason.
"And so?"
Sirius turned on his heels and went to stand right before the auror, the man's wand against his chest.
"Would you want to see my memories of that time, Auror Dawlish?"
Dawlish shuddered at the thought, now certain that if he tried to break into the Black lord's mind, that was what he would see. His grip on his wand lessened. Sirius smiled, and borrowed said wand.
When the young lord left the Ministry, he was smirking, and Dawlish was blue with pink flowers.